Some partisans, among them Hector Nieto, a Texas Democratic Party spokesman, said that Palin's expensive tastes conflict with her "Joe Six-pack" campaign rhetoric. Others defended Palin's clothes choices.

"I can certainly imagine her clothes would cost that much," Page Growney, a mother of four in New Canaan, Conn., told an Associated Press reporter. "What did you want to see her in, a turtleneck from L.L. Bean?"

A $75,062.63 charge at a Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis was the largest expense for clothing and accessories bought for Palin by the RNC from high-end department stores that also included Saks Fifth Avenue and Barney's.

No clothes for Dems

Obama's campaign did, however, pay for makeup and hair care expenses the Illinois senator incurred in connection with TV interviews, the aide acknowledged.

Palin's wardrobe expenses were listed as "campaign accessories" on the RNC's disclosure forms.

It is rare for campaigns to underwrite the clothing costs of candidates of either gender. Indeed, of the 41 other candidates and political committees reporting expenses for "accessories" during the 2008 campaign, none of them were for clothes.

Electronic accessories

Among Texans, Rep.
John Culberson
, R-Houston, listed $87 spent in March on accessories for his hand-held electronic device known as a PDA. And the Texas Democratic Party spent $2,319 on accessories, computers and recording equipment at Fry's Electronics in Austin.

Nieto, the Democratic spokesman, said the fact that Palin would spend $150,000 for clothes shows a disconnect between her and many voters.

"While Texans are struggling to spend even $150 for their wardrobes," he said, "Sarah Palin is out trying to look sharp for the cameras."

Though some Democrats say the RNC's purchase of the clothing for Palin might violate Alaska state gift rules, a Palin spokeswoman said there is no problem because the candidate does not intend to keep the new outfits.

"It was always the intent that the clothing go to a charitable purpose after the campaign," said spokeswoman Maria Comella. She dismissed the entire episode as media hype.

"With all of the important issues facing the country right now, it's remarkable that we're spending time talking about pantsuits and blouses," Comella said.